“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
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King Lion sent a message that he was sick to death. So, he summoned all the Beasts to come and hear his Last Will and Testament.
One by one the animals entered the cave, but none exited.
The Lion, appearing now to be in good health, went to the mouth of his cave, where he saw the Fox. “Why do you not come in?” asked the Lion.
“I beg your Majesty’s pardon,” the Fox replied, “but I noticed the tracks of many animals who already came to you; and, while I see many tracks going in, I see none coming out. It must be very crowed. I will honor your Majesty from here until I see the others exit your cave.”
Moral of the Story: The best protection is vigilance. Common sense skepticism. Trust, but verify. Keep thinking.
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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Related Article: Thinking It Through – No. 44. The Fox and the Goat – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series; The Duty of Trust – Stand for America®
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Why We Loved It: Aesop reminds us of the importance of vigilance. That is, to keep watching, with thoughtful attention to risks and natural tendencies. Aesop prods us to keep thinking.
There’s a reason why Aesop uses his apex Lion and his clever Fox.
Aesop uses his Lion—somewhat here against type—implying that every animal entering the cave was at a natural risk.
The subtlety is that King Lion is presupposed to be a majestic character, and it is exactly that presupposition that might induce many Beasts to trust. But that fact does not change the possibility of danger.
But, watch for it:
Subtle as it is, Aesop’s King Lion had a clever scheme using Aesop’s other lessons.
King Lion enticed each Beast as a potential beneficiary to the Lion’s Last Will. The Lion used self-interest as the trap, by natural attraction. Self-interest baited hope and trust, such as it often does.
[1] In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s Mark Antony used exactly this manipulative self-interested beneficiary tactic to drive the hesitant audience into wild riot; to wit: “Brutus is an honorable man. Oh, I almost forgot. Shall I read Caesar’s Will?” [2, 3]
We can be reminded that the Pitt Bull can be a generally well-natured animal with children, but wisdom by experience evidences that, as a general rule, everyone has a bad day, sooner or later. It just takes a triggering context, and, if that trigger does not occur, it is perhaps saved only by luck. [4, 5, 6]
Big teeth, strong jaws, and predatory inclinations are facts, all else is hope and trust.
Whether something is probable is a distinct issue from whether something is possible. Wisdom is prudently skeptical of volunteering to a catastrophic context.
Vigilance is watching contexts, not necessarily listening to contrivances of words.
In this fable, we are never told expressly whether King Lion is eating the Beasts within the cave—thusly, perhaps it is actually a crowded cave and King Lion miraculously recovered his health. But that’s not Aesop’s lesson.
And, why does Aesop use his Fox? Because it is the clever Fox who knows the most about the game of setting up clever schemes and ruses. The clever Fox is not chancing it. Such as inductive logic, “Perhaps that dinosaur is a vegetarian, but I’m not waiting around to find out.” [7]
Sir Reynard the Fox not only knows his usual overt enemy, the Wolf, but the clever Fox also recognizes anyone who might play the Wolf.
For Aesop, sometimes it’s the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, and sometimes the Wolf in Lion’s Clothing. [8]
Sapientia est aliquando ars felicitatem, sed sapientia semper artem salvos. (“Wisdom is sometimes the art of prosperity, but wisdom is oft the art of survival.”)
“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism.
“There’s no trust, No faith, no honesty in men; all perjured, All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers.” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Sc. II.
“Doveryay, no proveryay” [“Trust, but verify.“] Russian Proverb. (Popularized in the United States by Ronald Reagan.)
“Trust everyone, and cut the cards.” Robert Zegarelli
“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” Zig Ziglar
“Two kinds of people are good at foreseeing danger: those who have learned at their own expense and the clever people who learn a great deal at the expense of others. You should be as cautious at foreseeing difficulties as you are shrewd at getting out of them. Don’t be so good that you give others the chance to be bad. Be part serpent and part dove; not a monster, but a prodigy.” Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
“Sapientia interdum prosperitatis ars est, sapientia vero superstitum ars esse solet.” (“Wisdom is sometimes the art of prosperity, but wisdom is oft the art of survival.”); “Quisque habet malus diem.” (“Everyone has a bad day.”) ~ grz
Note: This Aesop’s Fable is quoted in the Socratic Dialogues. The Importance of Aesop to Socrates [#GRZ_100]
[3] News, the Source of Influence, and Resultant Decisions [#GRZ_164]
[6] On Wisdom and Luck; Or, Getting Lucky is not the Same as Being Wise [#GRZ_155]
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* Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., earned both his Bachelor of Arts Degree and his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dual major areas of study were History from the College of Liberal Arts and Accounting from the Business School (qualified to sit for the CPA examination), with dual minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He has enjoyed Adjunct Professorships in the Duquesne University Graduate Leadership Master Degree Program (The Leader as Entrepreneur; Developing Leadership Character Through Adversity) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School (The Anatomy of a Deal). He is admitted to various courts throughout the United States of America.
Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., is Managing Shareholder of Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC. Gregg is nationally rated as “superb” and has more than 35 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including startups, INC. 500, and publicly traded companies. He is author of One: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, and The Business of Aesop™ article series, and co-author with his father, Arnold Zegarelli, of The Essential Aesop: For Business, Managers, Writers and Professional Speakers. Gregg is a frequent lecturer, speaker and faculty for a variety of educational and other institutions.
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.
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